By Dave Baumeister, County Correspondent
SIOUX FALLS – Ken Teunissen, vice president of the South Dakota Veterans Council, presented Purple Heart road signs to the Minnehaha County Commission at their meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
He said these show the designation for Minnehaha County as a “Purple Heart County,” and that the signs will be placed along various state highways right at the county line.
In the statement he read, Teunissen noted, “The mission of the Purple Heart is to sponsor camaraderie and goodwill among combat-wounded veterans (who) are dedicated to our country and community.”
He also spoke about the work being done on the state veterans cemetery that will be located just to the north of the Interstate 90/229 exchange.
The first of 13 stages will be complete later this year or early in 2021, Teunissen explained.
The plan is for a stage to be added every ten years over the next 130 years on the 60 acres of land donated to the project by the city of Sioux Falls.
He said that when the project is completed, it will be the final resting place for over 40,000 veterans, their spouses and dependent or special needs children.
A fund-raising letter details that the first stage will include 610 preplaced vaults, 999 cremains gravesites, 660 columbarium niches for cremains, a scatter burial area, 50 memorial wall markers, an avenue of flags, a memorial walkway, and other features.
To make this project a reality, an endowment fund has been set up with the hope to raise $3 million by July 2023.
Over $635,000 has already been raised, and, according to Teunissen, those 3,000 letters were just recently sent out to chamber of commerce members around the state.
“This cemetery will be a tribute to patriots,” the letter reads. “It will immortalize the sacrifices that have been made for our freedoms.”
Individuals can also make donations to the project by emailing Teunissen at or calling (605) 310-6458.
In other commission business, County Auditor Bob Litz reported on upcoming election deadlines.
The next election will be the for city and school board on Tuesday, April 14, with the possibility of a run-off election on May 5. The deadlines to register to vote for those races are March 30 and April 20, respectively.
The statewide primary election will be June 2, with the registration deadline of May 18.
And the general election will be Tuesday, Nov. 3, and the voter registration for that is Oct. 19 at 5 p.m.
Also, Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Crystal Johnson updated commissioners on the Juvenile Gang Investigation training they sponsored last week for local educators, members of Lutheran Social Services, social workers, school resource officers, and others who work with young people.
She said the purpose was to help create awareness with people who had contact with kids at risk, and that this “front-end” training would save her office “work on the back-end,” after a problem already existed.
In the final action at the meeting, commissioners authorized a contract with MedStar Ambulance Service of Brandon for moving deceased individuals from the scenes of accidents, criminal activity, etc. to the Minnehaha County Coroner’s office for $400 per transport.
The Minnehaha Commission has its regular meetings each Tuesday at 9 a.m. on the second floor of the county administration building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
These meetings are open to all, and public comment is always encouraged.
